Review of Liar Liar (1997) by Rudy M — 25 Sep 2015
It was time for me again to watch a pre-9/11 movie. A comedy even. There's just something about 1990's movies from America. There's some kind of carefree innocence that you just miss in more recent productions.
Liar Liar is of course a well-known Jim Carrey film. At the director's seat is Tom Shadyac, who has worked with Carrey on several occasions and shows the capacity to reign Carrey in more often than not. Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur are responsible for the writing, which is mostly excellent in this case.
The premise is as silly as it is original: a five year old boy wishes that his dad (Carrey as Fletcher Reede, a lawyer) can't lie 'for just one day'. And of course here the wish comes true. And you can imagine what kind of problems that creates for a lawyer at work and an adult in general.
When I heard the little guy mutter those words, I was surprised to hear the 'for just one day' clause. Why on earth would the boy think of it, let alone add it to his wish? I'd think he'd want his dad to NEVER lie again, but hey, I'm a critic, not a writer.
It still bothers me now, though. It's as if the writers added that little clause to make it somehow more realistic, more manageable if there's a 24-hour limit? Regardless, it doesn't matter. Not for most of the story, not for the realism. Cause really, a higher power that truly makes wishes come true? I have yet to see it happen outside of movies.
Anyway, there are some funny remarks to be made about the reality that existed because of the wish that was granted. You can't really catch a slip of the tongue throughout the movie, even little white lies can't be said by Fletcher Reede. But then again, it seems to be a universal truth that (Max:) "My teacher says beauty is on the inside" / (dad:) "That's just something that ugly people say.".
Pow! Quite a statement there, writers.
If you know what early 1990's Jim Carrey frolicks are like, you get a mostly filtered and stylized version of it here. At times, it's as good as it gets. Sometimes, though, it kinda derails with Carrey getting carried away. (Do you like what I did there?). I prefer the dialogue to Carrey's facial antics, but in general, it's 'very good', bordering on 'great'.
Pros: There's a character named Maximilian in this film.
Cons: goes off the rails a few times.
Verdict: Good entertainment.
This review of Liar Liar (1997) was written by Rudy M on 25 Sep 2015.
Liar Liar has generally received positive reviews.
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